My son is one of the few kids that have never fought hats. I've never had to have the endless battle of putting his hat on, only to have him take it off and chuck it and me having to put it back on again.

Which is great because not only does it keep him shaded in the Summer, but he can wear fun (and of course warm!) toques in the Winter!

The weekend before last, I picked up Dean's spiffy new toque made from WinterKnots. She is a local knitter and I have followed her on Facebook for a while. I've wanted to take up knitting a few times because of the awesome things she creates, but I know I should leave it to the professionals!

She made Dean a brimmed-hat. Firstly, the style is perfect. It's got spunk, just like him. And with her wide ranges of colours, she got something that matches well with his jacket. The toque feels durable but soft. Dean has been practicing putting his toque on and taking it off, all by himself. This is the only one we have that he can do successfully - the material is stretchy but forgiving. I don't have to worry about him stretching it too far and it becoming too big for his massive head (and by massive, I mean he's in the 95th percentile for head circumference) We both really love his toque!

A little bit about WinterKnots, and Tara the magic behind the knitting needles :

I started almost 2 years ago!!! It was in June of 2012… my friends had been pestering me to sell my hats instead of giving them away. So I started WinterKnots (my last name is Winterbottom hence the name! ) There is also a bird that is called a Knot and it is a Winter bird… hence the bird for my logo!

I only buy yarn from local knitting stores and majority of the yarn I buy comes from 88 Stitches in Walnut Grove… amazing store and knitting community!! I do not shop at box stores (i.e. Michaels, Zellers (when it was around) or Walmart) so the yarn purchased also supports local business!

I have been a knitter since I was little and am a self taught crocheter and love the durability of crochet for kids! I buy some of my patterns but also make some of them up which is lots of fun! I love doing this and seeing my hats out in public!

I also do adult hats, christmas stockings, lovely warm cowls for women and really anything that a customer wants! That is part of the joy of doing only custom orders!

I also have a store in White Rock called Not For Long Consignment that has some of my smaller hats in stock!